Centered From Reality

MTG Drafts Declaration of War Against Mexican Cartels as Mexico Becomes the Top US Trading Partner

In this episode, Alex laughs and cries over the Democratic Senator, Bob Menendez, who has been indicted on three charges — committing bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion. Menendez has used some unique arguments to defend himself as he searched online how much a gold kilo was worth and hid stacks of cash in his clothing. It is time for Menendez to resign and it sounds like many Democrats agree. For the rest of the episode, Alex expresses his concerns around the news. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has said she is drafting a declaration of war against Mexican Cartels. Alex argues that this rhetoric is widespread on the right and will only lead to more polarization and violence in Mexico. He also argues that a war on the cartels could create a power vaccuum that could make the issue worse and only divide relations between the United States and Mexico. Alex also notes that Mexico is now the top trading partner with the United States after passing China and the relationship should be repaired, not destroyed. 

Intellectualizing MAGA Attacks on the Civil Service, Canada F**ks up Zelensky’s Visit & Thoughts of Sehnsucht in Fall

In this episode, Alex covers a myriad of topics! He starts by reflecting on his complex nostalgia since his time working in Spain. Then he gets into a recent blunder in Canada where a parliament member inadvertently had the crowd celebrate a 98 year old Ukrainian veteran that turned out to be a fighter for a Nazi regime. Later, Alex celebrates the potential, tentative deal that could end the Writer’s Strike in Hollywood. Finally, Alex takes a deep dive into why the civil service is important why MAGA allies are looking to intellectualize Trump-era lies that can help them gut the civil service to retain power. 

Ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh: Ethnic Cleansing, Re-Integration or a Fresh Start?

In this episode, Alex starts by talking about why he thinks both President Biden and Donald Trump should participate in debates and why he thinks it is crucial for democracy. Then Alex takes a deep dive into some fairly interesting events happening between Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to reports, Armenia has pulled out its forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh region which houses over 100,000 ethnic Armenians inside of Azerbaijan. After decades of violence and vile rhetoric, this is somewhat surprising. Alex argues that there is nothing to celebrate and a campaign of “re-integration” inside of Azerbaijan could be beginning. 

Poland is Becoming a Thorn in Ukraine’s Side

In this episode, Alex talks about how Anne Applebaum turned out to be correct about Poland potentially becoming a thorn in Ukraine’s side. As of yesterday, the Polish government has announced that it will continue to honor its current weapons agreements with Ukraine, but it will not send more weapons than agreed. All of this is because of the Black Sea blockade that President Putin has created. Since Ukraine can’t ship its grain from the ports on the Black Sea, it has transported the grain through countries like Poland. Unfortunately, Ukrainian grain is lower priced and has ended up getting stuck in Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia; this has led to a drop in prices and protests from local farmers. Alex discusses how this may create ripples throughout the Polish-Ukranian alliance. 

A Killing in Vancouver Highlights Deteriorating Relations Between Canada and India

In this episode, Alex discusses how the killing of a Sikh leader in Canada has led to a freeze in diplomatic and economic relations between India and Canada. Credible intelligence released by the Canadian Government links the killing to forces associated with the Indian Government. Now, the United States and the United Kingdom must walk a tight rope in foreign policy as Canada wants to hold India accountable for its democratic crackdowns at home and abroad. 

Trump’s Ominous Warning to the Jewish Community

In this episode, Alex starts by going over some other clips from Donald Trump’s chaotic interview on Meet the Press. Later, Alex expresses his concerns around Trump’s Truth Social post that sends an ominous warning to Jewish Americans that voted for Democrats — “Let’s hope you learned from you mistake and make better choices moving forward! Happy New Year!” It seems like Trump has constantled attacked Jewish Americans that vote Democrat and has peddled conspiracies about them having dual loyalities. Alex dives into this history of this rhetoric and why it can fuel troubling results. Alex also rants about Italian Fascism for a bit. 

The Double-Edged Reality of American Exceptionalism & Trump ”Beats the Press” in a New Interview!

In this episode, Alex reflects on the ideals of American Exceptionalism and why he thinks it has made some of us immune to our own internal weaknesses. Later, Alex goes into Donald Trump’s recent interview on Meet the Press. Alex ponders why mainstream outlets still run these interviews and how some journalists struggle to maintain credibility as they fight Trump’s firehose of flasehoods. 

Alex’s Democratic Bench for 2028 (Top Ten List) - The Saturday Countdown

In this episode, Alex goes over the growing worries coming from inside the Democratic Party over Biden’s age and how it could impact his chances of reelection. Due to the topic, Alex provides his top ten Democratic politicians that he thinks would be great presidential candidates going into 2028 and beyond!

Russian Spies ALL OVER Latin America, the Putin-Kim Jung Un Summit No One Wanted & Lauren Boebert Vapes Her Way Out of Beetlejuice

In this episode, Alex is all over the place. He starts by laughing at Lauren Boebert who was kicked out of a Beetlejuice play in Denver for causing a scene. He also laughs at Kevin McCarthy for having a horrible week as speaker of the house. Alex then gets into foreign policy events. He starts by talking about the devastating events in Libya and then goes over his worries about the recent meeting between Russia and North Korea. This event could be bad for Ukraine and horrific for nuclear stability in Asia. Finally, Alex talks about how Russian spies that have no connection to Russia, known as illegals, have been showing up in Europe and are now flourishing in Latin America. 

Mitt Romney: Personal Acclaim v. the Weight of Conscience

In this episode, Alex laments the fact that one of Utah’s Senators, Mitt Romney, will not be seeking re-election. Alex takes his listeners through Romney’s fall from the Republican standard bearer to an anti-Trump pariah and why values over survival are important. It seems like Senator Romney actually valued his role as a United States Senator but was disillusioned with the moral failings of many of his colleagues. Alex argues that there should be more Romneys in a healthy Senate and his actions were morally, and politically, necessary.